Wednesday, December 8, 2010

LADY AT DUKE

Rev. Gordon Sebastian told the true story about the lady in his church. The local doctors in Wilson, NC, tried to diagnose and treat her but were unsuccessful. So they sent her to Duke Diagnostic Clinic where the nation's most brilliant minds conferred that day on her case.
Gordon recounted, "Early that morning she was placed on a table in a back examining room while blood was drawn and tests were run. More tests, more doctors. Intrigued, the physicians met several times. They discussed her case and worked together until late afternoon, pouring over X-rays, analyzing test results. Still alone on the table, she waited but no one came. Finally a janitor found her there and told her everyone had gone home."
Everyone was so busy working on her case but they forgot about HER and left her there. How can professionals do that? Probably the same way we Christians get so busy in the Lord's work that we forget about time with Him. We leave Him in a back corner of our lives, intending to go see Him but working FOR God replaces being WITH God.

I've done it. More than once.

Some things are easy for me:

busyness

checklists

being on-the-go

talking

organizing

activity

Other things are difficult for me:

stillness

silence

solitude

rest

listening

doing nothing

Yet when I do the hard things, I can "Be STILL. . .and KNOW GOD" and I find that "PERFECT PEACE" when my mind is STAYED on God. The old hymn is familiar to sing but harder to live: "STAYED upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed, finding as He promised perfect peace and rest."

"Be not WEARY in WELL DOING. . ."

Schedule time with God

often

alone

long

A recent devotion indicates I'm not the only one to leave God strapped to the back table of my life at times.

So Dry and Thirsty

"If you knew . . . who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

John 4:10, NIV

While the woman of Samaria and I have many differences, we have one thing in common. I, too, find myself from time to time running on empty. In the busyness of ministry, the weariness of activity, the excitement of opportunity, I sometimes wake up and realize, "I am so dry and thirsty." Invariably, when I examine myself, the reason for the dryness of spirit can be traced to one thing. I'm not drinking freely of the Water of Life. I'm neglecting my Bible study. I'm rushing through my prayer time. I'm not listening to the voice of the Lord because I'm just too busy to be still. At those times I carve out quiet interludes to confess my sins and read and meditate and pray and listen and just drink Him in.

Aren't you glad that well of Living Water never runs dry, even when we do?

1 comment:

Christmas, our Lord's "designated" birthday commemoration date, is like this as well.

Some of it is unintentional December related busyness, but some of it is a purposeful Satanic attack. This latter group has done everything they can to X-mas Him out to "Happy Holidays" ignoring Him altogether.

Kathy Henderson

About the Blog

Kat's Pause is a time for me to break from the rush of life and share that life with you. I like puns so when friends made title suggestions, this one bobbed to the surface. God's teaching me to slow down, be still, to sabbath...pause. Occasionally I'll throw back the curtains of our home and invite you in. You'll glimpse vignettes of the many facets of our marriage, 3 children and 14 grandchildren!